Blurt | Artist

Blurt is an English experimental art-punk band formed 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire by band-leader Ted Milton along with Milton's brother Jake (drums) and Peter Creese (guitar). Ted Milton, who is also a poet and puppeteer, still performs with the band periodically, and records as a soloist and as half of the duo The Odes. Brother Jake Milton was previously the drummer for psych-raga band Quintessence. After three albums Peter Creese left the band to be replaced by guitarist Steve Eagles. Most of Blurt's compositions feature simple, repetitive, minimalistic guitar and/or saxophone phrases, but they can also explore more abstract musical territories, often serving as an atmospheric backdrop for Ted Milton's existentialist poetry. The band's earliest recording appears on the 1980 Factory Records release A Factory Quartet (FACT24), alongside The Durutti Column, Kevin Hewick, and The Royal Family and The Poor. Their debut studio LP was the 1982 self-titled release, which had critics linking them stylistically with the nascent "no-wave" movement in New York, alongside the likes of James White and The Blacks. The band went on to record a further 10 studio albums, highlighted by a string of strong releases in the late 80's and the 90's. Standout albums include Kenny Rogers Greatest Hit (Take 2) (1989), Pagan Strings (1992), Magic Moments (1994), Celebrating the Bespoke Cell of Little Ease (1999), and the 2018 compilation Blurt+Singles which brackets their debut album with early Singles. Blurt's enigmatic band-leader Ted Milton grew up in Africa, Canada and Great Britain. He published some early poems in magazines like Paris Review and Brian Patten's Underdog. In 1969 his poetry was published in the anthology Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain. In the mid-sixties he began performing as a puppeteer, participating in numerous international festivals and appearing on So It Goes, the TV show hosted by Factory's Tony Wilson. He also contributed a short scene for Terry Gilliam's film Jabberwocky, and completed "Elegiac" - a musical collaboration with Graham Lewis from the band Wire and Sam Britton (Icarus).

Artist Website: tedmilton.net

Featured Albums: Blurt

Related Artists: Ted Milton, Steve Eagles